Website Created at UA is Changing the Lives of Diabetics
DiabeticLink is an innovative website designed to cater to Type-1, Type-2, and pre-diabetic patients that was started at the University of Arizona in September 2014. DiabeticLink currently has about 6,000 members.
The website began under the direction of Hsinchun Chen, UA Regents’ Professor of MIS and director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and Randall Brown, a physician at Banner University Medical Center. Dr. Hsinchun is the president of DiabeticLink and Randall Brown is medical advisor.
University of Arizona students have also been working on the project through the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Department of Management Information Systems. Student Grace Samtani (Neuroscience and Cognitive Science ’17) explained, “Our main target populations include diabetics, their family members and friends, and healthcare providers.” Grace is currently serving as the community manager and social media outreach specialist at DiabeticLink.
DiabeticLink’s comprehensive site makes it convenient for members to use. It eliminates the need for diabetics to go to several different websites by incorporating easy-to-navigate features that accommodate all of their needs in one place. Website membership is free.
Tools on the site include logs for members to track their intake, health resources, news, and a community blog. “The main goal of the website is to promote patient intelligence,” said Chen in the Arizona Daily Wildcat. The website also encourages members to talk to other diabetics and watch educational videos to achieve better overall health.
DiabeticLink not only benefits those with diabetes, but also family and friends. The site helps people understand the disease to assist in managing it to better accommodate friends and loved ones.